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Managing for Sustainability
Stakeholder Engagement
Alcan continued building relationships with stakeholders by initiating
dialogue that supports the goal of long-term sustainability.
Customer engagement
All Alcan business groups are dedicated to building and maintaining
strong customer alliances. For example, our automotive partnerships
made history again as Jaguar introduced its aluminum-intensive XJ
sedan built with Alcan technology. Alcan engineers and researchers
worked alongside the Jaguar design team throughout the developmental
process. The stamped aluminum sheet structure is some 40% lighter
than an equivalent steel body and some 60% stiffer. All the closures
and fenders are also produced in aluminum sheet, further contributing
to weight reduction, improved performance and increased fuel economy.
The XJ follows more than two decades of pioneering work by Alcan
in developing products and technology in concert with stakeholders
to lessen the environmental impact of automobiles by lightweighting.
Also in the transportation sector, Alcan Mass Transportation Systems
collaborated with other suppliers and customers to maximize the
benefits of aluminum and composites in the design of eco-efficient
commuter trains and buses. Advantages include considerable weight
savings over conventional tramcars and buses as well as reduced
labour costs due to the use of pre-fabricated components.
Community engagement
Many of Alcan's community efforts focus on encouraging aluminum
beverage can recycling as a means of generating revenue for charitable
organizations. In the U.S., the Company launched a recycling contest
as part of America Recycles Day (ARD). The contest challenged six
Alcan locations to encourage their communities to gather aluminum
cans for the benefit of the Habitat for Humanity Homes Program.
The winning community was in Henderson, Kentucky. Alcan also sponsored
the construction of Habitat homes in Oswego, (New York) and Cleveland
(Ohio), both of which were built with the help of Alcan volunteers.
In the U.K., an Alcan-initiated advertising and direct mail campaign
encourages the collection of aluminum drink cans and foil in 20
different localities, a new web site was launched to promote consumer
recycling and some 220 schools registered for a recycling competition.
In Iceland, an Open Woodlands project is co-sponsored by Alcan to
increase public access to forests and, in British Columbia, Canada,
a Wilderness Awareness Program was developed following two fatalities
on a local mountain. Many Alcan facilities also work with local
fire departments both in education/awareness sessions and to assist
with firefighting as required.
On the operations side, stakeholder dialogue includes actions such
as at our Engineered Products facility in Valais, Switzerland, where
environmental information meetings were held with local authorities
as well as with Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund representatives.
Similarly, at the new Alma smelter in Quebec, all public monitoring
commitments were met and the community was kept up to date on the
plant's environmental performance including details of a study on
electromagnetic fields near the power lines to the smelter.
Industry Engagement
In refining these internal tracking mechanisms, we continue to benefit
from our cooperative efforts with several external organizations
to develop recognized sustainability indicators. This includes our
involvement with the International Aluminium Institute's sustainable
development indicator project, the Wuppertal - European Aluminium
Association project and the participation of Alcan's president as
co-chair of the accountability and reporting working group of the
World Business Council on Sustainable Development. These efforts
reflect a common concern and interest of companies and stakeholders
in establishing useful, effective and transparent metrics that support
the implementation of sustainability in companies today.
External engagement
In the belief that sustainability efforts are linked to Maximizing
Value, Alcan's president and chief executive officer delivered an
address
to the investment community as part of an executive seminar sponsored
by the Conference Board of Canada.
The core message emphasized that the benefits of embracing sustainability
can be substantial and are directly related to the fundamental imperative
of creating value. The investment community will benefit by working
with companies that are transparent and have senior-level mechanisms
in place to monitor decision-making and report on performance beyond
traditional parameters.
In 2002, the Company also continued its voluntary participation
in the World Resources Institute, the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development and in the Global Reporting Initiative to
develop sustainability measurement standards.
Public Policy
In 2002, Alcan promoted corporate sustainability in numerous government
policy forums, including the Canadian Democracy and Corporate Accountability
Commission. The mandate of this Commission was to address a growing
public concern with regards to the existing degree of responsibility
that corporations have to the communities where they operate.
At the regional level, a submission was also made to the Quebec
Committee on Public Finance regarding corporate social responsibility
and socially responsible investment. In addition, the Company acted
independently and with industry partners in discussions related
to greenhouse gas emissions and, more specifically, with regard
to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.
Senior Management Support
Business Group Implementation
Values and Culture
Employee Recognition and Development
Stakeholder Engagement
More 2002 Highlights
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